The Sun
by MissFaerieKaiti
Summary: "Some call them doppelgangers. Some call them clones. Some say that no matter who you are, you definitely have a double somewhere in the world. All we knew was that we had suddenly found the one person in the world meant to be our /best/ friend." OC-centric, read and review, please!
1. Prologue

**Bonjour, mes copains! Oui, I'm learning French currently, but that's beside the point. The point is I've had an idea for a long while and I finally wrote it out some time ago and I'm finally (after a lot of debate) publicizing it. Why did I debate so much about publishing this? Oh, goodness, so many reason. But I'll only give one; after all, you just want the story to start, right? Right!**

**One of the main reasons was that it contradicts one of my former stories. Those of you who have read it and have miraculously stayed with me this entire time may remember by the end of this which one I'm talking about. I've deleted it, because it just wasn't really strong overall as a plotline in and of itself. So I've added the main point of that into this story and gotten rid of the other one. Oh, and if you really did read it and are still sticking by me, THANK YOU! You're awesome! ****Cue disclaimer!**

**Neji: To say that Kaiti does not own Naruto is like saying water is wet. It really doesn't need to be said to be obvious. However, Kaiti has two and a half OCs that appear in this story: Kaida, Kadin, and half of Hotori. Haru, Kyra, and Hotori's other half belong to Taylor, whose penname is Tamaki and Haruhi 4ever.**

* * *

~Kadin~

Sometimes it's easier to leave than it is to stay.

I loved my mom. I really did – still do, in fact. But she couldn't give me the answers I needed. Only my dad could do that.

Of course, I _could_ have just followed that fascinating red-headed kunoichi and her team back to their home. I _could_ have asked her parents if they had once had twins.

But this wasn't just about me. Who knew how many others had been the victim of a famous actress's lesser-known, deadbeat husband? He was home rarely enough, especially since that time my mom got fed up and kicked him out. And who know where he went? It was a mystery, and I had to stop him.

...What? Why couldn't I have just hired ninja to find him for me, since my mom is obviously rich enough to pay for it?

Don't steal my thunder. I know I just finished saying this wasn't about me, but seriously. Put yourself in my shoes. Wouldn't you want to be the one to personally bring him in? To personally get the answers you've wondered about ever since the day you saw a face that practically mirrored your own? Especially ever since you found out you were adopted?

So I died. Yep. Death made it a lot easier for me to move around and find the man I once called "Dad" – without his running off each time I got close. After all, right before his friends killed me, I _had_ vowed to track him down. And despite being a kid, I knew I could do it. And he knew I could do it. I wasn't "just" a kid anymore.

Had I lived, he would have been on his guard. And it would have taken me a _lot_ longer to find him. Clearly, death was my best option.

But, wow, I'm getting way ahead of myself.

My name? Kadin. My surname? Hm. I hope to find that out soon. My age? Probably thirteen.

That fascinating red-head I mentioned earlier? Well, I'll let her pick up the story now.

* * *

~Kaida~

Wow, Kadin, thanks a lot for confusing everyone. I'm now going to start things _right_, let people figure out our story in chronological order, and say my name is Kaida Yukiten.

Kadin and I have red hair, but mine is a lot – I mean a _lot_ – longer. We have hazel eyes. Our features are basically the same – the only real difference is my freckles.

Now, I know right now you're jumping to the obvious conclusion, and you're wondering why Kadin and I haven't realized it for certain yet. But might I remind you, there _are_ people in this world who look alike but aren't actually related. Some call them doppelgangers. Some call them clones. Some say that no matter who you are, you definitely have a double _somewhere_ in the world.

Besides, when we first met, we didn't even know Suzume Kobayashi wasn't his birthmother.

All we did know was that we had suddenly found the one person in the world meant to be our _best_ friend.

Don't get me wrong; I had tons of friends, and a grand total of three best friends. But not a single one of them clicked the way Kadin did.

You know, while we're on the topic of best friends, I think I'll start our story off by introducing all three of mine to you. (Shh, Kadin. You _did_ hand this story off to me, remember? Mwahaha, now there's no telling when you'll get it back!)

* * *

**Woot, that finishes off the prologue! Oh, and to those of you who are aware of my pitifully sad track record with multi-chapter stories, set your fears at ease. I've completely finished this story already, so there's no risk of my running out of ideas right at the very end and going without the final chapter. I'll upload each section one at a time every day or two until they're all up. Enjoy, and please drop me a review before you leave!**


	2. Chapter 1: Introductions

**Aaand we're back with part two, the official story plotline beginning! Last chapter's disclaimer applies here and for every upcoming chapter.**

* * *

~Kaida~

Choji laughed at me as I dug through my pockets for an extra couple of dollars. He had just bested me in an eating contest, and now I had to pay for the food. It was our usual bet whenever we got together for meals – especially at our favorite barbeque place. I managed to come up with just barely enough to cover the bill, but I couldn't leave a tip for our waiter, whom we had asked to referee our little competition. He was probably regretting it now; his face steadily turned a disturbing shade of green the longer Choji and I ate.

I sent Choji a pleading glance. He understood and added some of his own cash to the bill for the tip.

I couldn't help laughing after the waiter left. "That poor man. He's probably thinking, 'They're not human!'"

Choji grinned. "You owe me for helping you out there, Kaida."

I gave Choji an innocent look. "But don't you feel better now, Choji, knowing you just made his day that much better?"

Choji just grinned again, letting me know he wasn't buying it. Choji's one of the nicest people I know, but he can still be ruthless when he wants.

Suddenly, Choji looked at the clock and groaned. "It's later than I thought; Asuma-sensei is expecting me to show up for training in ten minutes!"

I slid out of the booth and offered my hands to Choji. "Come on, I bet I can help you make it!"

"Bet?"

"Not literally, this time," I laughed.

We did manage to get to his team's training grounds with a minute to spare, however. We both had a lot of experience recovering quickly from overly-full stomachs. I think his jutsu had something to do with his recovery time – from things like this, anyways. Me, I don't know. Fast metabolism or something, I guess. Ice chakra natures didn't seem to have any relation to stomachs and overall digestion.

As usual, my heart sort of skipped a beat at seeing Shikamaru. He had apparently just finished some one-on-one training with Asuma, which I could only assume Choji was also about to get.

"What's up?" I asked as Choji stepped into the clearing and Shikamaru walked up to me.

He groaned. "Asuma's a slave-driver."

"He can't be worse than Haru-sensei," I grinned.

He scowled at me out of the corner of his eye. "You're just waiting for a chance to say something about how I'd rather just watch clouds or play shogi."

"Well, now I don't get the chance. Thanks a lot."

He cracked a small grin. "You're so troublesome."

"I'm so glad you noticed!"

We started walking back to the village together.

"You know," we both started to say. I laughed and he grinned.

"You go," he said.

I shook my head and gestured for him.

"Ah, I was just thinking about some of the stuff we did at the Academy."

"Remember when we actually managed to pull off that bucket-of-water-over-the-door trick?" I grinned.

"Classic," he agreed. "And when Choji went after that imaginary mouse?"

"Has it really only been a year since we graduated?" I asked wistfully. So much had changed since then. Me, Shikamaru, and Choji – hardly ever spoken of separately by our classmates, always mentioned in conjunction with each other.

The Academy was naturally where I had met Kyra, too.

"You know, I've been meaning to tell you something," Shikamaru said.

I had too, as a matter of fact. Too bad it probably wouldn't be the same thing. Which was why I had yet to say it.

Then, speaking of Kyra, my female teammate and third best friend to be introduced, showed up from behind a distant tree, running towards Shikamaru and me.

"Kaida!" she panted when she was within speaking distance. "Lady Tsunade! Mission!"

I looked at Shikamaru apologetically, but he just waved. "Tell you when you get back. Take care," he said.

"Always," I answered, running with Kyra to Lady Tsunade's office.

* * *

Lady Tsunade slapped a picture down on her desk for Team Haru (me, Kyra, Hotori, and our sensei Haru) to see. It was of a beautiful woman in traditional clothing, her face one I recognized.

"It's that actress!" I said, trying to think of her name. I knew I'd seen movies in which she had starred, but...

"Suzume Kobayashi," Haru-sensei said.

"Correct," Lady Tsunade agreed. "She is about to begin filming for another movie, but she wants bodyguards for herself and her son. This is your mission: To escort them both safely to and from the movie set and protect them for the duration of the filming."

"Yes, ma'am," I said in unison with my team.

We packed and were on the road quickly enough. As usual, traveling with my team proved to be both irritating and relaxing. Hotori was irritating, and Kyra was relaxing. Haru-sensei? Well, he was certainly the most level-headed out of all of us, which made sense since he was our sensei. And Kyra's brother, if you didn't know already.

"I didn't know Suzume had a kid," I commented.

"Shows what you know," Hotori snorted.

I glared at him, but for Kyra's sake bit my tongue. (Yeah, Kyra and Hotori had begun dating recently. Probably a good idea I mention that, even though I had yet to get used to that fact.)

"She looks too young to have a son," Kyra said, agreeing with me. Or at least, that's how I chose to interpret it. "I didn't even know she was married."

"She likes to keep her private life quiet," Haru-sensei said from in front of us. "From what I understand, her husband is rarely home. And her son generally has other reasons to justify his existence on each movie set."

"What kinds of threats do you think we'll be rescuing her from?" Kyra wondered, eyes wide.

"It'll probably be rabid fanboys who each want some of her hair," I laughed. Taking on a rich, snobbish tone, I added, "We'll be personally responsible for ensuring Her Majesty's head of lustrous locks remains as full and hypnotizing as ever."

Kyra giggled. "And as for her son, he'll decide that with as much drama as fills his mom's everyday life, the director should just cancel the intended movie and film a documentary instead."

"Ha, her son will _be_ the director, dear Kyra, just you wait and see!" I said, laughing again.

She gave a mock-gasp. "Suzume takes orders from her own son?"

"It's called 'Really Interesting, Genius, Heroic Times' when a child steps up and starts bossing around his or her parents," I said, nodding with as serious an expression as I could maintain.

There was a short pause, then Kyra burst into laughter. "R-I-G-H-T? Did you actually plan that?"

"Maybe." I raised my eyebrows in a gesture neither confirming nor denying my natural brilliance. And humbleness, as you can tell.

"Well, I think you were right in that, anyways," Kyra said.

"I know, right?" I agreed.

On Kyra's other side, Hotori rolled his eyes and groaned aloud. In front of us, Haru-sensei chuckled.

So Kadin's been nagging me for a while, interrupting my fascinatingly fun commentary. I guess I'll hand things over to him finally.

* * *

~Kadin~

Yeah, that whole 'right' thing is getting old fast, so I figured you would appreciate my rescuing you. (Quiet, Kaida. You know I'm righ– I mean, what I say is true.) Anyways, I'll continue my own commentary in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting

**You have no idea how happy I am that I already have this story written. I've got so much going on right now, every big project seems to be due at once, I really shouldn't even be taking the time to write this A/N. I just needed to rant for a couple seconds. Back to the grindstone for me; I hope you enjoy this chapter! =D**

* * *

~Kadin~

So. I know you've seen my place in all this by now. But since Haru didn't say much about my dad, maybe I should give you a quick update.

His name? Ichiro. Surname? Kobayashi, of course. His reason for staying out of the spotlight? Mom gave him no choice.

See, Ichiro had problems – lots of them. But at the core of most of them was just money. He drank, smoked, and gambled, all of which (as you know) require cash. And since he couldn't hold down a job, that cash came from Mom. Long story short, she got sick of it and kicked him out.

Why didn't she get a divorce? She never told me, but I personally think she just didn't want that kind of publicity. At any rate, it was easy keeping him out of her sparkling spotlight. I mean, would you believe it if some hobo-looking creep told you he was married to a dazzling celebrity? I didn't think so. (For those of you wondering how she got involved with him in the first place, I was never told that story either. But if photo album implications can be believed, he wasn't always like this.)

Anyways. On to my life. Kaida's told you about her friends and how our paths were arranged to cross soon enough. Now it's my turn to lead up to that intersection.

I wish I could tell you about my bucketloads of friends, and about my smaller number of best friends. The truth? I had bucketloads of people who, if asked, I guess I would call friends. Mostly coworkers. But I had no one I knew well, aside from my mom. You'll see why in the next paragraph.

The setting I'm about to plunk you down in the middle of? A forest. Many clearings, many animals, one house, two people. Yeah, that doesn't exactly scream "hustle and bustle." At least, not of humans. There's plenty of other kinds of life.

My mom liked her privacy. You knew that already, I know. But there's a difference between knowing something, and actually _knowing_ something, you know? I knew it to the fullest extent. My only interactions with the outside world came when Mom got a new leading role offer, in which case I got hired too - as a gofer, usually.

Going back to detailing the momentary setting, Mom was in the house, reading over her new script and practicing her lines. I was outside climbing trees, looking for the highest vantage point, waiting not very patiently for the ninja she had hired so we could get moving.

And then I saw bear paw prints. Deciding it was better than sitting around waiting, I followed them. Not sure how much time I wasted, but I actually had a good time stalking the mother brown bear and her cubs.

Then, finally, I headed back.

...What? That's all, you ask? Well, excuse me for not knowing how to convey every little movement of ears, paws, and noses, not to mention the hunt and chase that went on before that to kept me enthralled for so long. Take a hike into a forest of your own and find a bear family there if you want to know all the details.

Unlike some people (Kaida), I actually want to get on with the story.

So. I went back to the house.

...And found some stranger mangling one of my favorite trees.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Stop it; what did that tree ever do to y—"

The figure with the long red hair turned around, and suddenly I don't think either one of us remembered how to breathe.

If I were a girl, I would look just like the one standing in front of me. Wait, that was worded poorly. Slightly less disturbing to think about, if she cut her hair and changed her clothes, she would look just like me.

She recovered first. She's always been quick to point that out, ever since.

She raised a dagger that looked fragile, like it was made of glass, but also deadly sharp, and glared at me. "Who are you? This is private property."

Shaking myself into action, I glared right back. "And you would know, because you live here. Or no, wait, that would be me."

"I don't like your attitude, pal."

"Yeah? And who are you to—" Again I broke off. This time, because I noticed something I should've seen sooner. Her headband. "You're a ninja."

"_Duh_," she said infuriatingly.

I stepped closer, glaring at her nose-to-nose. "Show a little respect. _You're_ working for _me_."

"You're Suzume's son." I think she had only just reached that conclusion, but she didn't seem about to show it.

"_Duh_," I mimicked.

Again, I'm not sure how much time passed. We just stood there for a while, glaring at each other. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter. She cracked at the exact same moment, doubling over laughing.

"Wish you could've... seen your face... Priceless!" she gasped out.

"I doubt your expression was any better!" I laughed. "You were trying way too hard to be serious!"

She sucked in a breath, attempting her serious look again, but broke into a grin almost instantly. "Just for future reference, you can't pull off the 'tough guy' look."

I stuck out my hand. "I'm Kadin Kobayashi."

She dropped her weapon (which I swore vanished before it hit the ground), and returned with a firm handshake. "Kaida Yukiten. Pleasure to meet you."

"Of course it is."

"Although..." She studied me for a moment, crossing her arms. "I _am_ wondering why you've stolen my face."

"I think you've got it backwards," I said. "You stole mine and added freckles."

"Angel kisses," she corrected automatically.

I smirked. "So you admit it."

"Not likely."

For some reason, the more we talked about it, the more I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise, like the obvious was a forbidden topic.

So I changed the subject. "Why were you attacking my tree?"

"Traveling gets boring; I was itching to do some training; your tree was convenient."

"You killed it."

"Tree hugger."

"Nature destroyer."

Suddenly I noticed that, as scarred as my tree was, there were no weapons within view.

"What happened to your weapons? Steel doesn't just vanish."

"I wasn't using steel."

"Wood?" I asked sarcastically.

"You wish. Ice."

"Yeah, right."

She cocked an eyebrow, but didn't seem to feel like she needed to prove what she was saying. Maybe that meant she was telling the truth, even though it made no sense to me.

I returned to something she'd said earlier. "How can you get bored of traveling? That's all I've ever wanted to do."

"The scenery all starts to blend together after a while. Do you always ask this many questions?"

"What's wrong with questions?" I grinned, daring her to try and get a straight answer out of me.

Kaida tilted her head and grinned back. "Everything, when you avoid answering them."

"I see."

"Answer my question."

I debated between continuing to dodge and actually answering. Somehow I sensed that no matter which I chose, I had gained a new friend. Maybe even my first real friend – especially if we stayed in contact after her mission was done.

I decided to give in, just this once. "Asking questions is the most direct route to getting to know a person. Plus it's fun."

She laughed. "Boy, you need a hobby."

"I used to pull pranks. Until they started putting me to work."

Her eyes lit up. "No way! Tell all!"

It turned out we had a lot to tell each other on the topic, both of us having spent a good deal of our childhood looking for laughs. Some stuff we had both done, but there were some things that one of us had done that the other never even thought of. I can't remember our full prank geek conversation, but a lot of it went like this:

"Hilarious! Did you try-?"

"Of _course_ I did! But if you had a little more imagination, you would have done—"

"Oh, but if you had let me finish, I would've said that too! Did you maybe think of-?"

"Lucky! I never got the chance to try that, but I wanted to! And what about-?"

"Ooh, that never even crossed my mind! How'd it go?"

"First off, I made sure to—"

So, yeah. Fun times. And it wasn't even spoiled when we started on the road. My mom rode horseback; but since we weren't in a hurry, Kaida's team and I walked.

Yes, in case you were wondering, there were weird looks all around when they saw Kaida and me together. Who wouldn't do a double take in a situation like that? But what I thought was weirdest was my mom looked almost afraid for half a moment.

Before I could think about it, however, Kaida introduced me to her teammates.

I took one look at Hotori and decided I didn't like him. Okay, maybe it had something to do with Kaida's tone when she said his name, or the way he looked down his nose at us both, or the way he ignored my outstretched hand. But still.

Then Kaida introduced me to Kyra. She seemed okay. Nice, but rather shy, so it was hard to pinpoint her personality on first meeting.

After maybe an hour or so of traveling, we emerged from the path in the woods I knew like the back of my hand onto the road that wound around rolling hills and through crowded cities.

Oh, hang on, Kaida's bugging me that it's her turn again.


	4. Chapter 3: Journey

**You know, now that I'm not exceptionally proud of myself for getting another update or exceptionally disappointed in myself for waiting so long, I really have no clue what to say in these between-chapter Author's Notes. xD I guess I don't need A/N's, but I've used them so much that I feel almost lost without them... Anyways, enjoy this latest chapter, and don't forget to leave me a review at the end!**

* * *

~Kaida~

It is _so_ time for me to pick the story up again. Trust me, you'd thank me if you only knew. Kadin thinks I get distracted talking about my friends, but he'd talk your ears off about traveling, traveling, traveling.

We walked roads. Passed towns. Waded through crowds. Blah, blah, blah.

The worst part of the job so far was shielding Suzume through the towns and especially cities. She was like a people magnet, and at places it even got to where her horse could hardly walk for fear of stepping on someone. Haru-sensei devised a manageable position where Hotori walked in front clearing a path. He probably had tons of fun blasting wind at everyone to make them move. Kadin hopped up on the horse with his mom, and Kyra and I stood to each side, holding our arms out to block the fans from getting too close. And Haru-sensei (I do not envy him this) walked behind the horse making sure no one got too close in that direction. We eventually decided to avoid the crowds entirely by skirting around each city.

But while we were in between towns, it was actually really pleasant. Haru-sensei was generally up front, Suzume on her horse following. And the other four of us generally walked in pairs. I was sometimes with Kadin, trading jokes and interesting life story bits. Other times I walked with Kyra, chatting and laughing. One awkward moment, I found Hotori beside me. (Kyra and Kadin were talking just ahead of us.) We had a very... intense... discussion. Yeah.

There was also a point in time I found myself walking beside the horse, looking up at and talking to Suzume. She was actually a lot cooler than I would've expected. Down to earth and stuff. And she could tell some pretty interesting stories about the life of an actress.

I couldn't wait to find out what Kyra thought of Kadin, and after their first official conversation I wound my arm through Kyra's and pulled her off, regrettably leaving Kadin at the mercy of Hotori.

"So?" I asked instantly. "Isn't he great?"

Kyra cocked her head at me. "You two have a lot more in common than just looks."

I beamed. "He's done so many practical jokes! A lot of the same ones I did at the Academy with Choji and Shikamaru! He likes nature and being active, and we've got the same sense of humor. What's not to love about the guy?"

Kyra was quiet.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's just... I thought you liked Shikamaru."

She might as well have drenched me in ice water (while I was without my immunity to the cold). "Ew, Kyra, I wasn't even thinking about Kadin like that."

"Oh." She seemed relieved. "Okay. Then yeah, he's great."

Wow. Just wow. I knew Kyra knew I'd had a crush on Shikamaru for ages – she'd been a big supporter and merciless teaser, which I swore to have revenge on one day. (Yeah, Hotori sort of ruined that for me; that kid can_not_ take a joke.) But it wasn't like anything that blunt was ever actually _spoken_. It was hard to say stuff like that when you weren't sure the guy liked you back the same way, especially when you didn't want to ruin a good friendship.

Okay, I _had_ to stop thinking this stuff; it would just drive me crazy.

I glanced over my shoulder at Kadin and Hotori. Both boys were scowling, neither one looking at the other. If they'd conversed at all, it had clearly not been good.

Kyra followed my gaze and sighed. "It's really too bad Hotori rubs people the wrong way," she said softly as we returned our attention frontwards. "He's not that bad once you get to know him."

I racked my brain for something positive to say. "Well, at least on the battlefield, differences are a little more easily forgotten." _Lame_, I chastised myself.

She smiled at me knowingly. "You mean there's less time to waste on arguing, when attention is on staying alive."

I grinned. "You got me."

Sometimes, I did actually wonder if that's what prompted them to begin dating. In the second stage of the chunin exams, I was separated from Kyra and Hotori. Kyra was badly injured, and Hotori did what he could to ensure survival for the both of them. It was maybe a couple months at most afterwards that they started going out. But of course, I had no way of knowing.

"Look out!" Haru-sensei suddenly shouted.

I turned just in time to see shuriken headed straight for us. I ducked, praying Kyra had done the same, then jumped off in the direction they had come from. When I turned slightly, looking for the thrower, I saw Haru-sensei and Hotori also combing the landscape. Had there been other attacks from different directions? Kyra stuck by Suzume and Kadin, fending off more attacks.

I returned my attention to my search and found the source of the shuriken. It wasn't a person, but some sort of contraption that fired off shuriken at random intervals. I wasn't sure how to turn it off, so I made a few quick handsigns and chopped it in half with a sharp wedge of ice.

Weird that there wasn't a person operating it, or even anywhere near in sight. Weird that it had gone off right when we were within its line of fire. Just weird.

And bad.

There _must_ have been a person to turn it on.

Why hadn't they stuck around? Why hadn't they tried harder?

Not that I was complaining about the second one.

Were there any wires maybe connecting the machine to something else? I didn't see any.

I glared at the scenery around me one more time, but I still didn't see anyone. I turned back to the road.

That was naturally when the bandit decided to jump me.

I elbowed him hard in the stomach, kicking him away from me, then ducked to avoid a punch. I tried knocking into his legs, but he jumped over me and pulled out a sword.

_Fine then_, I thought. After another couple handsigns, I also held a sword (though mine, naturally, was made of ice), brandishing it like I was ready to block anything he threw at me. He swung his sword at me. Instead of making an attempt to beat him at swordplay (in which I had no experience), I just ducked under his attack again, dropped my sword, and full-on tackled the guy.

He was bigger than me, yes. But he was nothing more than a common thief, so I was stronger than him. Soon enough, I pinned him to the ground and ran into the issue of keeping him still. Since I didn't have any way to tie him up, but definitely didn't want to let him run off, I had no choice but to wait in the uncomfortable position of _keeping_ him pinned.

Fortunately, Haru-sensei showed up quickly and took the guy off my hands. He tied my attacker and another together, then looked at the rest of us.

"These two should do just fine in a local prison. Let's keep moving."

Kyra, Hotori, and I saluted and complied.

To my relief, it didn't look like anyone had been hurt. Well, hadn't been hurt badly, at least. Personally, my shoulder ached from tackling so hard.

"You were great," Kadin said when I fell into step alongside him.

I grinned. "Of course I was! I'm hurt you would expect differently."

"Oh, I wasn't expecting anything from you at all, to be honest," he said airily.

I stepped sideways to bump my good shoulder into his, and he laughed.

"What's it like," he asked, "being a ninja?"

"More questions?" I teased.

"I've got loads more, if you want. Favorite color? Favorite food? Favorite season? Best memory? Worst memory? Hero? Greatest—"

"Okay, okay!" I stopped him, laughing. "Tell you what, I'll answer, but only if you will too. You're not the only curious one here."

"Deal," he agreed, grinning.

And, yeah. That's how we passed a good majority of the rest of the time – just basically getting to know each other better. In the next town, Haru-sensei decided take me with him to drop our two bandits off at the local sheriff's office. When the sun began to set, Suzume rented a suite in one of the big city hotels and we spent the night there. We ninja took turns standing guard.

And the next day passed much the same way. Suzume and Haru compared notes, guesstimating our arrival time at around lunch the next day.

So when morning dawned, we had a hearty breakfast and set out for one last half day of travel.

The closer we got, the more Kadin started to look depressed.

After nearly two full days of close contact with the guy, I figured I knew why, so I worked up a distraction.

"What's your absolute, most favorite thing? As in, object?"

"Hmm." He glanced up at the sky, considering. "The sun."

I grinned. That wasn't actually a touchable thing, but it was good enough; so I made a few handsigns, concentrating to get it perfect. "Why's that?"

"It's something that everyone takes for granted, even though it's so important. What are you doing?"

_Tree-hugger_ was on the tip of my tongue again, this time in a more friendly-teasing way, when of course he cut me off with another question. "Proving to you I can make ice like nobody's business, and giving you a gift while I'm at it."

"Oh."

I laughed as the ice sculpture of a sun dropped into my hands. "You got a handkerchief or something? I doubt you'll want to touch this with your bare hands."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You're doing it."

"Because even though I can feel that it's cold, I'm more or less immune, given my chakra nature."

He jogged ahead a few steps, got a handkerchief from his mom, and fell into step alongside me. He gingerly accepted the sun, looking surprised. "Wow, that is cold."

I playfully punched him. "You thought I was lying?"

He looked at me defensively. "I've never heard of anyone being able to do this."

I laughed. "Ninja have a way of figuring out the formerly impossible. Oh, and don't worry. That sun won't break easy, and it won't melt either. Well, not unless I die or you find a ninja that for some random reason decides to use a fire jutsu on it."

"Thanks, Kaida," he said seriously. He wrapped the sun in the handkerchief and tucked it into the pocket. I had to wonder if that would make his leg go numb eventually, but I figured if that happened, he'd move it somewhere else.

I turned my attention back to his sudden relapse into quiet. "What's wrong, Kadin?"

"We're almost at the set," was his response.

"Is it just that you like traveling so much, or do you just not like movie sets?" I asked.

"It's... not that I _dislike_ movie sets. All the crazy people involved put on a great show."

I laughed and noticed we were coming in view of something that didn't really look like a town.

"But sometimes..." He stopped. "You guys are staying for the duration of the filming, right?"

"That was part of the reason your mom hired us, yeah."

"There's this—"

"They're here!" came a shout from up ahead.

Suzume waved gracefully from atop her horse, making no move to hurry. But several of the people from ahead came rushing towards _us_.

I can't even tell you how terrible it is to be rushed at. For a ninja, it's doubly worse, because you have a split second to decide if it's a threat or not. If you make the wrong choice, bad things happen. At best, you fail the mission; at worst, you get yourself and everyone else killed.

Haru-sensei made the split-second call and motioned for his students to stand down. Thankfully, the group slowed as it reached us, and finally stopped. Pictures were taken, hands were shaken, introductions were... introduced. Why can't there be a word like "introdaken" to go along with my other two words that rhymed?

And amidst all the chaos, one girl flung her arms around Kadin.


	5. Chapter 4: Good Times

**Do you want an apology for the slight cliffhanger? Heehee, sorry, then. But I'm also sorry that I can't apologize for the one coming up. ;) You'll simply have to take comfort in the fact that I'm not going to just _leave_ you hanging. n_n**

* * *

~Kadin~

Oh, sure, Kaida. Leave _me_ to explain this part. Have I mentioned lately how _angelic_ you are?

Anyways, yeah, fine. I had an admirer. A pretty one, and nice enough; I'll admit there was nothing really wrong with the girl. But she just wasn't my type.

And, in the heat of the moment, I panicked. I really didn't want to spend another movie-making trying to be polite and honest but not hurt her.

So I pulled her arms from around my neck, grabbed Kaida's hand, and said, "Lina. Nice to see you again. Let me introduce you to my girlfriend Kaida."

I'm not sure who was more shocked: me, Kaida, or Lina.

I mean, I'm not blind. Kaida had already told me about Shikamaru, and I could read between the lines same as anyone. And until that moment, I hadn't even considered the possibility of asking Kaida out.

But Kaida just finished telling you about difficult split-second decisions. And my split-second question was this: Spend this filming time being stalked by a girl I could never seem to shake, or spend it with someone whose company I actually enjoyed? But when it was worded that way, there really was no question at all.

I sent Kaida what I hoped was a discreet pleading look, and she recovered first.

She held out her free hand and smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, Lina."

To Lina's credit, she recovered well, too. She smiled and shook Kaida's hand. "The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." She looked between me and Kaida, probably hoping for a detailed explanation as to how it had happened. And maybe why we looked so alike, while we were at it.

Fortunately, over by my mom, the director started yelling into his megaphone. "Alright, people, break it up! Costume! Make-up! Props! Let's get moving! I want to film our first scene before we lose the light!"

Lina wiggled her fingers at us and disappeared.

I looked over at Kaida as the crowd began to thin. "Uhm, I should probably explain."

Kaida rolled her eyes and shoved me playfully. "Didn't I hear you work here, too? You should probably get going. 'Boyfriend.'"

As if proving her point, the director directed his megaphone directly at me and hollered, "Kadin! Hop to it, boy!"

As I went off to see where I was wanted, I noticed Haru dividing up his team. He sent Kaida and Kyra with my mom and Hotori to me, while Haru himself walked with the director.

And then my day really started. Fetch me coffee, Kadin. Get my clipboard, Kadin. Move that prop, Kadin. Too far, Kadin. Put it back, Kadin. Make that actor happy, Kadin. Why are we out of donuts, Kadin?

Oh, but I'm not complaining – nope, not at all.

Okay, maybe a little. It _really_ tries my patience when the person could easily do it himself. But for the most part, it does a great job of getting me involved and keeping me busy. And believe it or not, I don't actually aspire any higher. (Don't you love these accidental rhymes?)

Really, movie-making is all very interesting, but I just want to make enough money to travel. Kaida joked earlier about my obsession, but it's true. No two places are exactly the same. Always something new to discover, be it culture, layout, trees, history, whatever.

But I guess it didn't matter. Not at the time. I couldn't leave Mom alone. Especially without a reason to give her other than 'I want to.' Which sounds way too harsh to even consider.

Going back to the story. My day was busy – I'd even go so far as to say it was hectic. And if Hotori got roped into helping me out, I can't say I wasn't pleased for the help, even as he grumbled about stupid grunt work.

Throughout the afternoon and evening (with a very short break in between to inhale some supper), I caught several glimpses of Kaida with Kyra following my mom, but we never had the chance to talk. There were also multiple quick moments I saw Lina, but she was apparently kept just as busy as me.

I wanted a chance to explain to Kaida. I was pretty sure she knew we were only doing this to get Lina off my back, but it would be a disaster if she didn't. I really was not interested in losing the closest friend I'd ever had not even half a week after I'd met her.

Finally, a good hour after sunset, I was told all the stuff that had needed done was done. Hopefully that meant that from now on, I would have a more bearable workload.

"How do you take all this?" Hotori complained loudly. "One guy tried to make me _redo_ his coffee because I didn't add enough sugar or something – _and_ he was standing right next to the coffee table! I was just about ready to pour the entire pitcher on him when you came over."

Which was the exact reason I had gone over. I managed a grin. "You get used to it, I guess."

"Count me out next time. I'm a ninja, not a lowly errand boy."

"Noted."

Haru found us and guided us to the town nearby. Most of the people working on this movie were staying in one of the hotels there. We found Kaida and Kyra with my mom in her room. With Haru's permission, Kyra went off somewhere with Hotori following nonchalantly, and Kaida and I roamed the grounds around the hotel.

"About earlier today," I started.

Kaida grinned, apparently reading my mind. "I've got no problems pretending to be your girlfriend."

Good, she did know.

Then her expression darkened. "The bad part was when I had to explain it to Kyra. She's not happy that I seem to have lied to her about not liking you that way."

"You didn't tell her the truth, did you?" I knew Kaida and Kyra were best friends, but I also knew that the more people who knew, the better the chances were it would leak to just anybody.

Kaida made a face at me. "I wanted to. But in the end I figured the less people that knew, the better chances we'd have of pulling it off. So I just told her I didn't think dating you at least just for the duration of the mission would hurt anything. Afterwards, though, you'd better apologize to her with me."

I smiled. "Sure. And thanks."

She returned the smile. "What are friends for?"

"Scapegoats, apparently."

She laughed.

"I know this is weird to say when we've only known each other for a few days, but you're already my best friend," I said quietly.

She grinned. "And _I_ know _this_ is weird to say when I'm such close friends with Kyra, Shikamaru, and Choji, but you're my best friend too."

"Even though you've known them longer?"

"They all had to adjust to my particular brand of crazy. You match my crazy to a T."

"To a C," I corrected.

She rolled her eyes but still grinned. "I've heard it said that people who are too much alike are destined to be either best friends or mortal enemies."

"I'm glad it's the first one that applies to us."

"Totally," she agreed.

We walked around in a comfortable silence for a while. It was getting pretty late and sort of chilly, so I suggested we head back inside.

* * *

Then began the good times. As Kaida and I 'dated,' I got to know her and her team better. Haru tended to interchange the person in charge of following me around all day, so I learned to get along with all of them.

Kyra gave me no hints that she disapproved of my dating her best friend; and after a few efforts to draw her into conversation, we started getting along almost as well with each other as with Kaida. On a completely unrelated note, did you know chocolate works great as a bribery tool? Not that I exploited it... often... sort of...

Hotori. What can I say? The guy gave me little incentive to be friendly during breaks, but I have to admit I quickly learned to respect his ability to work. Much as he complained about the grunt work he inevitably helped with again (as did his teammates and even his sensei when it was their turn to follow me around all day), he did keep at it and improved a lot.

The days when Haru was my shadow were great. He looked every inch the intimidating jonin, and acted it too – at least when the occasion called for it. Whenever someone would give me an order for something they were just too lazy to do themselves, Haru would casually put his hand on my shoulder to stop me and give the person 'the look' that had them scurrying to do it themselves. Other times, he was just great to talk to.

Lina. Again, what can I say? Of course I couldn't avoid her completely, and of course there came times when she seemed to be subtly challenging my claim that I was with Kaida. However, after one particular incident, she pretty much backed off. Maybe I'll tell you what happened later, but for now all you need know is this: never accuse Kaida of dying her hair – especially just for attention. She's got the temper to prove her natural hair color and is not afraid to use it.

And speaking of Kaida, not a day went by that we didn't become better friends – if that's even possible. We talked about everything under the sun. Well, maybe that's not entirely true. We both still tended to avoid wondering out loud why we looked so much alike. I'm still not sure why. It's just, anytime I started to bring it up, what I was about to say suddenly sounded stupid or even rude, so I kept quiet. I couldn't talk about it to my mom, either. How would you feel if your only son said something that seemed to imply he doubted his connection to you?

So that went unsaid.

But everything else was fair game, and it was tons of fun. I didn't want it to end.

So, naturally, some random (or seemingly random) disaster came along. And of course, it happened on one of those rare occasions that I was alone. It was the end of the day. I decided to walk next door from the hotel. Just. _Next. Door_. Not even across the street or anything. I was getting tired of the food at the hotel's restaurant; as varied as their selection was, I just wanted a hot dog. So I went to the restaurant next door.

And, now, here's something I've always wondered about. How many ways can you make a person lose consciousness? Knock-out gas of some kind, right? Blunt weapons to the head. Cutting off a person's oxygen for long enough. Cutting off the blood circulation to the brain, too, right?

But what approach does _every single antagonist_ decide on?

You guessed it.

Someone thwacked me on the back of the head, and I passed out.

* * *

***legasp* Well, we all know _Naruto_ characters tend to have thick skulls, so I wouldn't worry too much. But I wanted to make a comment here about something else in this chapter. Some of you who have read my other stories involving Kaida may think you've noticed an inconsistency. Just note that it's addressed in the next chapter. ;3**


	6. Chapter 5: Searching

**Hiya! Back again, yay! And don't forget to leave me a review there at the end of the chapter/page! ;D**

* * *

~Kaida~

Oh, right, Kadin. You complain about me making you explain Lina and the whole dating thing, but now you expect me to pick up commentary when _that_ happens? No, don't even try the whole 'I was unconscious so how can I talk?' thing. That's what time skips are for, which you used very nicely just in that very same chapter.

Ugh, whatever. So Kadin just finished summing up the last few weeks for him. For me, it was mostly stalking him or his mom as they worked during the day – even some nights too, when his mom had to film some shots really late. The mission was nearly complete; just a couple more days would wrap things up for Suzume, and of course Kadin would leave with her. Once they safely reached home, our mission would be over.

And of course, when I was off duty, I had tons of fun with Kyra and Kadin. And when it came to the whole Lina incident, don't let Kadin fool you. I was exaggerating my temper. That time. After all, I _had_ dyed my hair pink in the past – for attention, too. Just not for a guy's attention.

The night Kadin was just telling you about, my day shadowing him had just ended. We got back to the hotel, and as he changed clothes (someone had spilled orange juice on him) I ran into Kyra at the hotel restaurant and had supper with her.

It felt great to relax with her. We traded some corny food jokes (yes, I did plan that; I apologize), talked about our tag-team attack that had been lately lacking the proper training attention, and told each other about our day.

The only unexpected thing with her came after we'd finished our main meal. When the waiter came and took away our dishes, he left in front of Kyra a slice of chocolate cake. I hadn't remembered her ordering it, so I asked about it.

"Oh." She seemed embarrassed. "Someone arranged it to where I get one every night, and also if I'm here for lunch."

I grinned. "Hotori found your weakness, huh?" I was surprised, because it seemed sweet. And expensive. Two things I would never have associated with him.

"Actually, Kadin did," she corrected me hesitantly.

I stared at her for a moment, then I burst out laughing so loudly people started to stare.

Kyra pretended to scowl at me. "I know he's just bribing me."

"Is it working?" I gasped when I finally caught my breath.

For answer, she took a big bite of her cake. I started laughing again.

Haru-sensei walked into the restaurant as Kyra was finishing up, but instead of waiting for a table of his own, he approached Kyra and me.

"Kaida, do you know where Kadin is?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Last I saw, he was heading up to his room to change."

Haru-sensei frowned. "His mother said he went next door to eat, but he's not there."

"He's probably roaming the grounds," I said, standing. "I'll go look for him."

Haru-sensei's frown didn't fade.

"What's wrong, Nii-san?" Kyra asked the question I had been about to.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," he answered. "It's been a long day. Kaida, let me know the instant you find him. We can't forget that he would fetch a good ransom for anyone desperate enough to try kidnapping."

I blanched; I _had_ actually forgotten. "I'll find him," I promised, heading for the doors. The last thing I heard was Haru arranging for Kyra to begin searching as well and that Hotori was standing by Suzume.

His concern was contagious. I quickened my pace, hoping to find Kadin quickly and laugh about the needless worry. Maybe I'd even mock-lecture him or something. Insist he have a teddy bear guarding him every second from now on.

I couldn't find him.

As I searched and searched and came up empty, I decided to mentally exchange the teddy bear for a guard dog personally trained by someone in the Inuzuka clan.

Where _was_ Kadin?

...Yeah, this was pretty much my fault, wasn't it? Guard duty technically ended when the guardee's work day ended, since the hotel had security of its own, but Kadin apparently hadn't stayed within the hotel. Anytime before when he had left the hotel, even to wander the grounds, I had been with him. But not this time.

I tried not to panic. I touched base with my team and got my new orders from Haru-sensei. While Kyra and Hotori went back to the set to see if he was there and if anyone had seen him in the last couple hours, my sensei and I started questioning everyone in the hotel and at the restaurant next door. And at the surrounding buildings in general.

It lasted well into the night, with no progress.

He had last been seen exiting the hotel roughly twenty minutes after he and I parted ways. But according to the host at the restaurant, he had never made it that far.

Finally, Haru-sensei decided we'd find no more tonight. "Get some rest, Kaida."

"Don't tell me that; I can't!" Okay, I was panicking. "We have to find him! I have to keep looking!"

He put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me seriously. "You won't be any help to him exhausted. When the sun rises, we'll be able to look around better. Until then, get some sleep."

I knew an order when I heard one. I wanted to rebel. Wanted to yell at him that I'd never sleep while Kadin was missing. But Haru-sensei was one of the few people I never lost my temper at. He was tough, but always fair.

"Okay," I said quietly. "Just... Can you give me a few more minutes? Please?"

Something in my tone must've gotten to him, because Haru-sensei's expression softened. "Five minutes. Then you'd better be back in your room sleeping."

I nodded, and he left.

I slowly walked the path Kadin must have taken to get to the restaurant, keeping my eyes peeled in the moonlight for anything, anything at all.

A person was waiting for me.

He was too obvious; he practically demanded questioning. A trap, clearly. But perhaps a lead.

"Excuse me, sir, did you happen to see my friend? Red hair, big grin, would've passed here around six-ish?"

The man grinned and leaned in close. I tried not to breathe in the smoke from his cigarette. "Got two words for you, missy. One: adoption. Two: cave."

Before I could ask him anything else, he pushed a piece of paper into my hand and seemed to melt into the darkness. Was he a ninja, or just accustomed to using the night to his advantage? I didn't know, but at the moment it didn't matter. I rushed back to the hotel and read the paper. Written on it was a monetary amount and an analog clock; I had no doubts it was a ransom note.

As for what he had said... Adoption? I wasn't sure as to the context. Was he talking about a past adoption, or an adoption he hoped for concerning the future? The second was scary and just plain weird to contemplate, but the first? Let's just say I got a fluttery feeling in my chest. Maybe hope. For that one thing Kadin and I had never spoken of but had surely crossed both our minds.

At any rate, the 'cave' part seemed fairly obvious. You had to have a meeting point for the ransom demand to have an outcome, after all. I got a map from the lobbyist and located only one cave in the immediate area. In fact, the crew had shot some movie scenes there a couple times.

I left the ransom note and a message of my own with the lobbyist, to relate to Haru-sensei first thing when he woke up, and took off.

Yes, on my own. Yes, it was a stupid idea. No, I don't regret it.


	7. Chapter 6: Battle

~Kadin~

When I woke up, I was tied to a tree at the foot of a hill. The sun had set, and I had a pounding headache.

Slowly, I remembered that evening. Changing out of a stinking, orange-juice-stained shirt, telling my mom where I was headed, going without Kaida because she was already eating with Kyra, and getting hit on the head as proof of my error.

My eyes had difficulty adjusting to the darkness, but finally I could make out two figures some distance ahead of me – no, make that three. A third was walking towards us.

_Rescuer_, I thought, until one of the men closer to me called softly, "You delivered the message?"

"Oh, yeah," he answered. "They'll be there."

I jolted. I knew that voice. "Dad?"

Before I even knew what was happening, the man had marched closer and slapped me. "You don't call me that!"

I glared at him. "All too glad to obey. You never behaved like a father in the least."

"And why should I?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "You're not my son."

I jolted again, but I have to admit I couldn't exactly say I was surprised. I didn't look or act anything like Ichiro. "Then Mom...?" I deliberately left my sentence hanging for him to finish.

He grinned. "Didn't protest when I brought you to her at, oh, maybe a month old."

I couldn't breathe, couldn't respond to that. Honestly, that part _was_ a surprise. That woman had been and done everything a mother was supposed to be and do – probably more. I had to wonder if Ichiro was just lying to me, but another part of me thought about Kaida. If Ichiro was telling the truth...

"Where did you get me?" I demanded.

Ichiro just grinned again.

"Tell me!" I insisted.

"Hey!" another of the men interrupted. "Keep the kid quiet, Ichiro, or we'll gag him!"

Ichiro just rolled his eyes, tapped me on the head, and said in a bored tone, "Quiet, kid."

"You guys won't get away with this!" I said, glaring at the three of them. "You have no idea what you're up against!"

The third man smirked. "I think we do. You'll fetch a pretty price, and as long as we keep you away from the exchange area, there's nothing your little ninja buddies can do about it."

"Speaking of, we should probably be going," Ichiro said, scratching his shoulder lazily. "I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to be rich."

One of the other men walked closer to me. "We'd better gag the kid first, though. Wouldn't want anything unexpected to happen."

I sucked in a deep breath, ready to make his prediction come true, but he slugged me before I could get any sound out, making me lose my breath. He rooted around in his pockets, pulled out a piece of cloth, and moved to tie it around my face.

Quickly as I could, I glared at Ichiro. "I'll find you! I'll make you tell me the truth!" There was no way I was letting things with him end like this. I had to know where he had gotten me from.

Ichiro just shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as the other man gagged me. "Kid, I wouldn't hold your breath. Maybe I'd get around to telling you if you found me, but long as I even suspect there's anyone on my tail, I'll never be found. Not by you, not by your ninja friends, not even if you managed to sic ANBU Black Ops themselves on me."

_We'll see about that_, I thought grimly. Despite having never liked him, despite not having seen him in years, I _knew_ this man. I could find him. I knew I could. It would be harder than following the tracks of bears in a forest I had spent my life in, but it would be doable.

In the dark, something whistled through the air. It caught the moonlight and glinted in some places, but I couldn't make out what it was. Nonetheless, the three men jumped out of its way and it embedded itself through my ropes into the tree. I suddenly had a flashback to an argument over nature and smiled.

I knew who was behind this.

As more ice flashed through the air, narrowly missing but often enough hitting the men who kept trying to pinpoint its source, I used my now-untied hand to completely free myself.

Much as I wanted to join Kaida and help her, I knew moving around would only make her job harder. Oddly enough, I didn't see any signs of the rest of her team. I supposed they had split up or something.

I could hear the men grunting in pain each time a weapon found its mark. I guess they finally got fed up with it, because one of them grabbed me to use as a human shield; the sudden movement jerked me into the path of a kunai, which melted instantly but not before scratching my shoulder.

Kaida took the hint from them and stepped out into the open. Is it just me, or should she have continued to press her advantage in the shadows, human shield or not?

One of the men pulled out weapons of his own and tossed them at her. She was pretty good at avoiding them and striking back, but one managed to do some pretty bad damage.

"Kaida!" I shouted as she just stood there with a look of shock on her face. I threw my head back and smashed in the nose of the guy still holding me. He yelled and let go to cover his nose, although he must have been holding a weapon because I felt something painful scratch at my side. I ignored it as best I could and ran to Kaida.

...Was she melting?

I touched her, and she half crumbled, half melted. Was that a pile of snow now at my feet?

Meanwhile, more attacks came directed at Ichiro and the others – no, wait, just the two others. Where had Ichiro gone? _When_ had he gone? I couldn't remember if I'd seen him since Kaida's first attack.

Meanwhile, although I still couldn't see too well in the dark, Kaida seemed to be finishing off the other two. Eventually, they fell, and Kaida came walking out into my view.

"Hey," I said.

"I'm mad at you," was her only response as she crouched next to my two captors, making sure they weren't going to do any more damage for a while. I guessed they were unconscious, not dead. "My job was to guard you, and you walked off without me."

"You were busy."

"Then get someone else."

I didn't say anything for a while, but then I finally asked that forbidden question: "Did you once have a twin brother or something?"

She looked up at me, then slowly rose and came closer. "You're adopted?"

"If that story spun by the guy I used to think was my dad is true, then yeah."

She suddenly hugged me fiercely, and I cringed at the pain in my side and shoulder. "Careful," I said, moving her arms to show her the wounds.

She grimaced at it and pulled out some bandages. "These are pretty deep," she muttered as she began wrapping them up. "Sorry about the one on your shoulder."

"Not your fault," I said quickly.

"Come back to Konoha with me. We'll ask my parents together about us," she said, returning to our former topic.

While that was a very tempting offer, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to find Ichiro. There's no telling what other damage he's caused; he can't be allowed to continue. So I'll search for him more subtly than a ninja would; people don't pay as much attention to kids with nothing. And while I'm at it, I want more information from his own mouth about me."

She scowled as she finished wrapping the bandages.

I smiled and nudged the quickly-melting pile of what definitely looked like snow turning into mush. "What was this?"

"Snow clone."

"Snow cone?"

"_Clone_. You know, like shadow clone, water clone, and all those? Kyra gave me the idea for my own version."

"Can you make one of me? Fatally injured?"

She looked surprised. "Maybe. Why?"

"Ichiro says he's good at covering his tracks when he thinks someone's after him. I believe him. So I want to die to put him off guard. Make sure you broadcast my death."

Kaida glared at me, but I knew her well enough by now to know it was fake. "The second you find him, you have to promise to come back to me."

"Of course. And I'll follow through with the apology to Kyra then, too, if you'll do a couple things for me."

She started concentrating on forming the snow clone. "Like what?"

"Don't tell anyone I'm alive, or what we think we know. And tell Shikamaru how you feel."

She stopped and was quiet for a while. "Do you know how that'll look? My first boyfriend dies and all of a sudden I'm trying to get another one?"

I grinned. "In that case, tell him the truth insofar as you only went out with me to get Lina off my back."

She finished the clone and knelt down beside him just as the sun began to rise. "Okay, fine. Kadin, you still have that sun I gave you?"

I pulled it out of my pocket and unwrapped it. "Of course." It was always cold in my pocket, but never unbearable.

"I'll have them bury you in Konoha. The cemetery will be around the outskirts of the village. Since it's easier to find a single grave than a single house, put that with your tombstone when you come to the Hidden Leaf Village. I'll check the grave every day I'm not out on a mission. I know the village like the back of my hand; I'll be able to find you easily when I know you're there."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to miss you."

She rolled her eyes. "Not half as much as I'll miss you. Now you'd better hide; I'm expecting my team any minute."

"Tell my mom I love her?" I asked, moving back to hide in the thickest, leafiest tree I could find.

"Of course."

"Goodbye, Kaida."

"_See you soon_, Kadin."

I grinned. "See you soon."


	8. Chapter 7: Wrapping Up

**And now, time for the final chapter! It's been great fun adding Kadin into Kaida's life, and I sort of kind of maybe have a bit of an inkling of an idea for his future already. xD Anyways, all that's gonna be for much later, so let's just get started on this ending for now! =D**

* * *

Kadin hid himself in a tree, and I stared at his dying clone, gripping the cold hand. I tried to make myself forget momentarily that it wasn't real. I had to put on a convincing act.

The message I had left with the lobbyist had been that the kidnappers demanded an exchange at a cave, and I was going to scout out the surrounding area. Once I found Kadin and the three men with him, I sent a clone of myself back to edit the message, telling them exactly where to find me.

Soon enough, Kyra, Hotori, and Haru-sensei appeared and took in the scene instantly - or what it appeared to be, anyways.

I didn't look up.

_May as well get the whole burial thing over with_, I decided.

"Hey, glad you're here," the clone Kadin whispered hoarsely. "Haru, a favor."

"Name it," my sensei said quietly. His tone was solemn and matter-of-fact, the way ninja are supposed to face death.

"Bury me... in Konoha?"

"We can do that."

The clone relaxed, looked at the other two, then at me. Then his eyes dimmed.

I heard Kyra take in a shuddering breath. Then I panicked as I saw out of the corner of my eye Haru-sensei move to close the clone's eyes.

I moved to block his way. "Let me," I said in a whisper barely audible.

As I reached up to close Clone Kadin's eyes, my hands shook. Probably relief that it was going so well so far, but it could thankfully be interpreted differently.

Kyra put her hand on my shoulder. "Kaida, you don't have to do this," she said softly.

I didn't trust myself to try and speak again, not to mention I had no clue what to say. So I just gently removed her hand, picked Kadin up, and walked back to the hotel.

None of them followed me too closely. Even Hotori maintained a respectful distance.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this. I had not once explicitly lied, but every action screamed of falsehood.

Then I thought about facing Suzume and inwardly cringed. I was not looking forward to that conversation, but it had to be done.

Oh, and something else I had completely forgotten about until just then: with Kadin supposedly dead, our mission couldn't be counted as a success.

Kadin was _so_ going to pay for this when he got back.

* * *

As I thought, telling Suzume her son was dead (even if I threw in there that he had died protecting me) brought a terrible feeling. And when I relayed his message that he loved her, she broke down and just cried.

I stayed with her all that day and night, bringing what little comfort I could without giving away the truth. Anxious as I was to see Kadin again, I hoped he would make a stop to see Suzume before going to Konoha. Breaking her heart like this was unbearable, even after she confessed her version of the truth to me in a whisper.

"Kaida, I can't keep this from you any longer," she sniffled. She looked nothing like when she cried in front of the camera. Instead of a tragic heroine, her eyes and nose were red, her skin blotchy, her face twisted. "Kadin... He was probably your family, once. My husband brought him to me one day when Kadin was just a baby. Said he found him in a family that didn't need him. I wanted to demand Kadin be returned, but I wanted a child so badly. I never asked where he came from; I didn't want to know."

My heart squeezed at the confession. If Kadin and I really were twins, there had been so many years lost. But honestly, when I thought about it, I actually didn't think Kadin regretted any of his time with Suzume. And I told her as much.

Once the next day dawned, Suzume wrapped up her parts in the film with all the professional grace as she had before. And she showed little hint of her grief, aside from a subdued expression, as we escorted her back to her home.

We returned to Konoha the week after Kadin's death.

* * *

It was weird getting back into things at Konoha. I visited Kadin's grave daily, just like I promised, even though I didn't expect him to be back so soon. Unless I sought her out, Kyra gave me plenty of space – I guess to mourn in private or something. When Ino heard about the mission, she tried in her own way to console me, although she remarked more than once on how disrespectful I was being by not moping around everywhere.

Shikamaru and Choji had been away on a mission of their own when Team Haru got back to Konoha, but they got back soon enough. I found Shikamaru on his favorite rooftop, laying back and gazing at the clouds.

I wasn't sure I had the nerve yet to follow through on my promise to Kadin, but I had to try. At any rate, it was great just being around Shikamaru again.

"You're as active as ever," I commented drily, sitting down beside him and as he sat up.

"Ino told me about your mission. I'm sorry."

I gave that smile I'd had a lot of practice on lately: more like a grimace, it conveyed that while I appreciate his comment, I didn't like to dwell on it.

"Yeah, well. I think Kyra's taking it harder than me, to be honest." Chocolate bribery or not, I knew she and Kadin had gotten along well. "And according to Ino, I should be constantly depressed now that my first boyfriend died."

"Ino's charming that way."

"I noticed. It's so hard pretending to be in mournin—" I bit my tongue, hard.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow as understanding slowly dawned.

Great. I had just blown it. Well, at least I knew Shikamaru wouldn't tell anyone. "Anyways," I continued awkwardly, looking down at my hands, "I seem to remember you promising to tell me something when I got back."

Shikamaru made a face at me. "I should've told you before you left."

"I want to tell you something, too. I can go first if you're chickening out." Yeah right, if anyone was being the chicken, I was. I needed to just get this over with; no matter his reaction, I would make sure our friendship never suffered.

But before I could, he sighed. "You're such a pain. Running off and getting a boyfriend when I wanted to be your first."

My heart pounded in my chest. I wanted to jump up and down with joy. Instead, I swallowed and asked, "Would you settle for my first real boyfriend?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Kadin and I were only fake dating, to get a girl who couldn't take a hint off his back. We were never anything more than friends."

Besides, I was really hoping to find out I had a brother.

"I see," Shikamaru said.

"So?" I couldn't read his expression.

Then he grinned. "I guess I could settle for your first real boyfriend."

We leaned towards each other, and I felt a thrill go up my spine. I hadn't kissed Kadin once, not even to shut Lina up. But now, with Shikamaru...

We were interrupted by a loud _chomp_ to our right. We turned to see Choji grinning by the steps, eating potato chips like he was watching a great movie.

"Don't let me stop you!" he said cheerfully. "Go on, just pretend I'm not here."

Shikamaru and I laughed, and I threw a snowball at Choji.

And a beautiful month later, on a cloudy day threatening rain, I found the sun on a gravestone.

* * *

**Yay for happy endings! Please, _please_ leave me a review before you go; lemme know what you think! n_n**


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